When designing their retirement house, a couple planned the kitchen with room for two and a view.

Who's cooking: Mary Jane and Al Ely, married 54 years, are active volunteers in their retirement. Both are reading tutors in Northside Independent School District, and they have performed in choruses with the Houston Grand Opera and Portland Opera. Mary Jane, who taught music and directed church choirs, works as a docent at the McNay Art Museum. Al, a petroleum engineer, operates the restored gristmill at Mission San José during his weekly volunteer shifts there.

What's cooking: Mary Jane, the primary cook, appreciates old family recipes. She also enjoys experimenting with new recipes, particularly ones she finds in Cook's Illustrated.

Fish was one food that gave the adventuresome cook pause until she discovered a simple timing method. “I did not come to fish easily for cooking, but this James Beard method freed me,” she said. The chef advises cooking fish fillets 10 minutes for each inch of thickness.

She and Al cook dinner most nights, and she takes dishes to church and museum functions. The couple also host lunches and dinners for their volunteer groups.

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Al pitches in with dinner and bakes bread, primarily ciabatta and whole wheat made with flour he grinds at the mission mill. At the holidays, he makes raisin bread from a recipe passed down from Mary Jane's grandmother.

In this kitchen: The Elys built their house in Fair Oaks Ranch 16 years ago when they moved from Kingwood. They updated counters from laminate to quartz composite two years ago.

The space: About 141/2 feet square and open to the breakfast room, the kitchen is large enough to accommodate both Mary Jane and Al and the crowds they cook for. At holidays, the immediate family of their three children plus spouses and grandchildren numbers 16. During a family reunion this summer, “We fed 43 people out of this kitchen,” Mary Jane said.

A 12-foot ceiling adds to the spacious feeling.

On the surfaces: The light-filled kitchen gets a splash of color from cobalt blue quartz counters on the perimeter and blue tiles on the island. The backsplash of white tiles is accented with a decorative border above the counter. The blue complements Delftware pottery displayed on walls and shelves.

Stripes of blue and white run horizontally around the room where the walls meet the high ceiling. The wallpaper was designed to be vertical stripes, but the Elys chose to rotate it and use it as a border.

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Glass fronts keep tall oak cabinets from overpowering the room. Mary Jane noted that the original plan to have taller glass doors wouldn't work because of the risk of the wood warping. Instead, the cabinetmaker installed solid wood doors on the uppermost cupboards. “That turned out to be the best thing,” Mary Jane said, explaining she gained storage space for her collection of Santa Claus figurines.

Why it works: Windows across the back wall capture the Hill Country view the Elys enjoy from the backyard, and they give Mary Jane the ample light she wanted.

“We wanted inside-out fishbowl living,” she said, adding that she collected ideas from magazines for years before they built the house.

With ample counter space, there is room for both Mary Jane and Al to cook.

A second sink serves as a bar area for entertaining.

Know of a good cook with a great kitchen? Email suggestions for Cooks & Cocinas to Home & Garden Editor Tracy Hobson Lehmann, tlehmann@express- news.net.